Unwanted Skin
by Halia Stone
Summary: "I expect to find a corpse and instead I find a human Damon Salvatore." – Set from 4x23. Damon is stripped of his vampirism and is left miserable. The person picking up the pieces was the last one he expected.
**So I'm back from my long absence with a Klamon one-shot. :) No idea why it took me this long to write anything - I blame my procrastinating, PS3 and college exams - but I hope you'll like it and will leave me some reviews! (God knows I need some after being away for a while :P)**

 **Warnings: Somewhat blasé mentions of suicide throughout.**

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Damon was dying.

The pain pulsated through his entire body; every atom, cell, and anything in-between, was lit on fire. His vampire DNA was slowly being invaded by the werewolf venom, ripping his life away from him and killing him from the inside out. He was trying to make out what was going on beside him, but his blood was pounding too loudly in his ears for him to hear. But he had to focus, he _had_ to.

"We are past the point of Hail Mary phone calls. What do you want me to do?" Alaric was saying into the phone, looking completely lost, "Stand here and watch him die? Or force-feed him the cure?" he suggested with a light tone, but despite the joke behind his words, Damon couldn't help but feel on edge.

Especially as he hung up the call and reached for the Cure strung around his wrist.

"Ric...?" Damon trailed off hesitantly, backing up as much as the rock he was slumped against allowed him to.

"I'm sorry, Damon," Alaric apologised, uncorking the vial and kneeling down in front of him.

Damon's eyes widened in horror and he shook his head violently. "Alaric James Saltzman don't you dare!" he yelled, but the latter lost all merit when he literally choked on his words, vomiting up his own blood.

"Damon, Klaus is a no-show and you're dying!" Alaric argued back.

"I don't care!" he shot back harshly, his head spinning and the toxins in his blood threatening to boil over and overwhelm him.

Alaric regarded him in confusion. "What?"

"I'd rather die than be a human," Damon admitted, his eyelids drooping. He was losing the fight and probably didn't have long left, "You of all people should understand _that_ , at least," he added softly, his throat beginning to close up and his limbs beginning to go heavy as the venom pulsed dully through his veins.

"Well, it's too bad you have friends that give a damn about you," Alaric said simply.

"No–!" His protest fell on deaf ears as Alaric closed the gap between them and his hand crushed the vial into his mouth, Damon too weak, too _powerless_ , to fight back.

The smashing of glass echoed harshly in his mind as the Cure flowed down his throat, and the shattering of Damon's mirror thundered through the silent room as his fist collided with it. He struggled to breathe with the anger flooding his system, the latter distracting him from the fact his sliced hand was no longer healing as it should.

"Damon..." a soft voice from the doorway whispered pityingly, Damon not having the enhanced senses to hear them approaching.

He clenched his fists and angrily turned to face Elena Gilbert, the woman who had been behind the loss of his vampirism, his rage and fury a stark contrast to the compassionate and sympathetic expression on the girl's face.

"Get out," he ordered harshly, his veins burning with discontent as the words hissed from his mouth, "I don't want to see you," he spat with finality, his nostrils flaring when she didn't move.

Elena's eyes softened, enraging Damon further: "Dam–"

"It's because of _you_ that I'm human," he said abruptly, his eyes narrowing, and the lack of a vampire visage just angered him more. He had been a feared and reviled predator, and now he was reduced to nothing, all because of _her_.

"It's because of me you're alive!" Elena said in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Who said I want to be?!" Damon exploded, Elena taking a step back and staring in disbelief like she had just heard him confess to screwing her brother. "You of _all people_ took away my choice to stay a vampire and die!" he continued, chest heaving and his heart beating wildly. It seemed horribly ironic when he thought about it.

"You had no right," he said, having to briefly swallow and catch his breath from the onslaught of yelling. If it wasn't because of Elena, he wouldn't have had to.

"You'd rather die than be human?" Elena gasped in confusion, her eyes scrutinising Damon's every move. If she was hoping for thanks after her twisted view of 'saving his life', she was going to have to go to his brother. She'd done that before enough times.

"Yes," Damon admitted in exasperation, feeling a wave of emotions quite literally crashing over him, "I want to be able to drive my car like a psycho, drink an entire bar dry and still stay sober; I want to be able to rip someone apart and not end up behind bars," he ranted, unable to stop the words pouring out of his mouth, "Because that is who I am, and you destroyed that," he said, squaring up to her. She might have been the only vampire now, but Damon was angry enough he had no idea what he'd do.

"How can you be so selfish?" Elena shot back, crossing her arms with a look of superiority that Damon wanted to smack right off her face.

"I'm being selfish!" he repeated incredulously, huffing out a chuckle of disbelief, "The whole damn reason there was even a cure in the first place that Ric could shove down my throat was because _you_ cried and whined about being a vampire to people you _knew_ would fall down at your feet and do whatever they could to save your 'precious life'," he hissed, the vitriol spewing from his mouth like he was an erupting volcano.

"If you had just sucked it up and dealt with it like the rest of us, who by the way didn't have a fucking choice in the matter either, the ghost of Vaughn wouldn't have even been around to shoot me with werewolf venom," he finished, trying to catch his breath. His head was spinning uncontrollably.

"You're saying all this is my fault?" Elena said in disbelief, looking at him like he was going insane, but he probably was.

"Yes," he snapped, finally hoping she'd realise that every single time she opened her mouth with something _she_ couldn't deal with, a borderline catastrophic chain of events was always started, "And I can't believe I'm saying this after all we've been through," he continued, taking a breath to steady himself, "But I wish you had stayed dead after you drowned," he admitted, feeling a slight prickling in his eyes. All of this was _her_ fault; the hunt for the cure; _all of it_. If she had just put up and shut up...

Elena's breath caught in her throat, and she brought a hand up to it, like the words were physically choking her. Her eyes glistened with tears, and Damon stared at her emotionlessly. Her face contorted between a mix of anger and distress; she looked up at Damon almost pleadingly, hoping for some sort of apology or sympathy for _his_ words, but she got none.

She turned on her heel and left him alone, Damon sighing and swallowing hard. His fists clenched so hard he could feel his nails piercing the flesh; no words could describe what he was feeling currently. He was human, he was pathetic...

He was _nothing_.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice sang as the sound of footsteps caused Damon to narrow his eyes in frustration, "I expect to find a corpse and instead I find a human Damon Salvatore," he said in amusement, chuckling and raising the former vampire's ire further.

Damon whirled around, his eyes blazing with anger at Klaus' presence. How _dare_ he show his face here! It was partially his fault he was in this position in the first place, although it wasn't like he had _any_ power to even try and remove him anymore.

"Took your time, didn't you?!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Contrary to popular belief, Damon, I am not at the beck and call of a little blonde vampire," Klaus said softly, making Damon sneer.

"Then why are you here?" he asked, coming up into Klaus' face to glare at him, "To gloat?" he added snarkily, even though he thought it was overkill even for a prick like Klaus.

"To pay my respects, actually," Klaus admitted, giving Damon a small smile.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "What?" he snapped angrily.

"You were quite feared in some parts of the vampire world and performed feats that put your ripper brother to shame," Klaus said, making Damon sigh. He didn't truly understand how much he had taken his immortality for granted, until it was cruelly stripped away from him.

"Well, you're welcome to write my eulogy after I take a swan dive off of Wickery Bridge," he said flatly, rubbing a hand over his forehead. There wasn't anything left for him anymore, and killing himself wouldn't be as much of a chore now he was expendable, and weak.

"And why ever would you do that?" Klaus asked, looking at him in surprise.

Damon exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Look at me, I'm human," he said in disgust, feeling a massive lump forming in his throat, "After 170 years of being a vampire, I'm now on the same wavelength as an annoying brat who can't seem to stop dying and a busboy with absolutely no future whatsoever," he finished, the lump growing larger and refusing to dissolve.

He then lashed out; flinging the nearest thing across the room. A red mist descended down on his eyes and he couldn't control himself. He drove his fists into absolutely everything he could, the _pain_ he was feeling – both physical and mental – only made him angrier. Angry at the fact he couldn't even smash up his room and get his anger out, and doubly angry there was no way to switch off his emotions ever again. And it was _all her_ fault.

"Damon." Klaus' voice was like a faint buzzing against the loud roaring in his head.

He ignored him, yelling in frustration as he heard his mirror smash. He just wanted to break _everything_ in sight.

"Damon!"

Damon was rudely torn away from his possessions, his head slamming against the wall as Klaus pinned him against it, a firm grip on his arms.

"Damon, stop it," Klaus ordered gently, trying to soothe him, but Damon was having none of it, "Before you hurt yourself," he added in concern.

"Get off me," Damon hissed angrily through gritted teeth.

Klaus didn't move.

"Klaus, I mean it, get the fuck off me!" he screamed, writhing around in his grip and lashing out; punching him in the chest as hard as he could, and the fact that Klaus _let_ him was enough to make his throat hurt with how much he kept screaming. He couldn't even cause him the small amount of pain he would have been able to as a vampire.

The thought alone was enough to make him see sense; his movements slowing and the lump in his throat finally dissolving. He should've been ashamed for crying – crying in front of Klaus, of all people, but he just didn't care anymore. Everything else about him had been destroyed, so his reputation didn't mean jack anymore.

Klaus, surprisingly, watched him in silence while his anger dissipated into pitiful sobs. He didn't make a snide remark, like Damon was expecting, he just held onto him.

"I should have arrived sooner," Klaus murmured in regret.

"You think?!" Damon snapped, looking up at him, his eyes now reddened with tears, "It's not your fault; you didn't shove the cure down my throat," he amended, giving him a watery smile.

They both looked at each other in mutual understanding, Klaus not realising he was still holding onto him until Damon tried to move. He released him and Damon winced sharply as the searing stinging in his mutilated hands reached him.

"Damn..." he trailed off, staring at the cuts and blood seeping down his arm, desperately wishing they would start healing and all of this was a nightmare.

"You should let me heal you," Klaus offered.

"No thanks," Damon said with a smile, holding a hand up to stop Klaus biting his wrist, "If by some miracle I managed to come back after killing myself with it still in my system I'd probably end up sired to you," he said off-handedly.

"I'm not sure that's how it works between vampires, Damon," Klaus said in amusement.

"Why wouldn't it?" Damon wondered with a shrug, "I'd be just as grateful as a wolf you freed from their curse – if not more – so I'm not taking _any_ chances," he said, pointing his index finger at him, while Klaus regarded him strangely, as if he was wondering if a vampire sire bond _could_ ever form in the same way as those of hybrids, despite Val telling them it had to be formed by human feelings.

"What's it like?" Klaus asked him curiously.

"What?"

"Being human again," Klaus said in wonder, although for Damon, the situation was anything _but_.

"I'm not even an hour in and I already feel like I wanna sleep and never wake up," Damon admitted, all the talk about feelings exhausting him beyond his control, "I said to Elena I couldn't think of anything more miserable on Earth, and I meant that," he said quietly, still fuming at the fact his choice wasn't respected. He was supposed to respect _hers_ – especially back when she wanted to _die_ in the sacrifice – but why was his abandoned in favour of _her_ words?

"Can't believe I felt any different about it for even a second," he muttered bitterly.

"Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be, Damon," Klaus said gently, as if it was actually supposed to be reassuring, but he couldn't think of anything that being human had, over being an _immortal_ vampire.

"Coming from the immortal, Original Hybrid," Damon said cynically, grimacing in the form of a smile, "Your sister was stupid to want to give up her vampirism," he said distastefully, shaking his head in disbelief.

He made to leave – the air in here just getting too damn depressing – but a strangely gentle hand around his wrist made him stop in his tracks. Damon turned around, shocked at the genuine emotion he could see in Klaus' eyes.

"You can't ever forget what it's like to be human," Klaus said with a heavy sigh, Damon remembering when Rose said something similar to him in her lucid dream state.

" _You_ miss it?" Damon asked incredulously.

Klaus licked his lips, having to contemplate what he was about to say, "I miss being connected to the world, actually _existing,_ " he said, "Not just floating through time pretending to feel emotions that have long since left me," he admitted, looking off slightly, his eyes becoming misted.

He then shook himself out of it, bringing himself to look Damon straight in the eyes, "I miss not having to live a lie," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Damon regarded him strangely. Had that been an _actual_ confession to him? He swallowed, realising Klaus still had a hold of his arm, and didn't seem to have an intention to let him go.

"Never thought I'd hear something like that out of your mouth," Damon said in surprise, truly impressed.

"These thoughts are only fleeting, of course," Klaus amended, _of course_ , Damon thought to himself with a small smile, "But you shouldn't spend the rest of your years wallowing in self-pity," he told him.

"At the risk of sounding like a cynical 175 year old," Damon began, "What's so good about my days being numbered?" he asked aimlessly, raising his eyebrow.

"What is _so good_ about being human again?" He couldn't think of a single thing; he was now susceptible to a pathetic death, he could no longer hold his own against those who would be glad to see him wiped from the face of the Earth, and he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do in the future.

"Will you let me show you?" Klaus asked.

Wordlessly, Damon nodded. If he could at least _help_ to make the situation less bleak, then–

His thought process was interrupted as he felt Klaus' lips press against his own, tentatively, as if _he_ wasn't sure of what he was doing. Damon just stood there, unable to say anything, feeling Klaus' fingers stroking gently over his veins.

Damon swallowed hard as Klaus pulled away from him, their eyes meeting. "What are you...?" he wondered, shaking his head slightly, although he had no intention of pushing him away.

"Just relax," Klaus advised him in a whisper, "Don't fight it," he said soothingly.

Damon noticed the fire burning in the Original's gaze, and he also noticed how he deliberately let his eyes roam appreciatively down his body and back up again. Damon swallowed hard, now mesmerized by his stare.

Klaus' eyes paused in his voyeuristic search, pausing to look at Damon's lips, seemingly searching something.

Damon just kept his gaze on him, and his lips parted in a silent gasp for air. He took a moment to take in the sight of the Original in front of him, and Damon realised just how formidable he really was, how strong his power was; he was explosive and volatile, yet in an ironic juxtaposition saw him as anything but that, for the moment.

The eye contact between them both broke as Klaus leaned forward again and kissed him languidly, pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt. Damon wrapped his arms around his neck, daring to wrap one arm around him as the other slid through his hair and traced the light stubble at his jaw. In response, Klaus' hands tangled into Damon's hair and cradled the back of his head as his tongue probed deep into his mouth.

Damon's hands floated downwards to pull at the belt around Klaus' waist, letting hang loose while in response, Klaus ripped Damon's shirt into shreds.

"That's one way to do it," Damon said in a breathy laugh, Klaus quirking his eyebrows at him.

He pushed him backwards onto his bed, and Damon watched him with heady anticipation as he slipped his shirt over his head, crawling on top of him with a predatory look in his eyes; his hand sliding up to rest over his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

"Nervous, are you?" Klaus teased him, making Damon frown.

"No, of course not," Damon said with a shake of his head, the latter coming out more flustered than he would've liked, "I think 'hard' would be a more appropriate word," he added shamelessly.

As soon as those words left Damon's mouth, Klaus grinned devilishly and pressed himself between his legs, rocking gently and making Damon groan in pleasure as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"I think we're still wearing too many clothes, don't you?" Klaus asked lightly, smiling against Damon's neck.

He nodded in agreement, and both men started to shed each other of their remaining articles of clothing. Damon didn't even get a moment afterwards to catch his breath, as his lips were caught in a hot, searing kiss, Klaus' hands forming gentle manacles around his wrists to stop him from going anywhere as he continued kissing him, not allowing him to break away.

He maneuvered his body in between Damon's legs, the elder Salvatore groaning into Klaus' mouth at the feel of his full weight. His lips refused to part with his own and Damon felt Klaus' warm fingertips running up and down the outside of his thighs, a chill running up his spine as he knew what was coming next.

Klaus finally broke away from him, his lips trailing down his cheek and pressing against his ear. He breathed heavily against it and whispered, "Try and relax."

With that, he slid two fingers inside him. Damon's body tensed up underneath him, his face screwing up with a pain that he hadn't ever felt before in his life. Klaus then began scissoring him open, Damon closing his eyes with a soft moan as his body adjusted to the sensation.

He groaned involuntarily at the sense of loss as Klaus removed his fingers from him, positioning himself at his entrance and rewarding him with something much more satisfying. He was completely buried inside him, not moving and letting Damon adjust around his throbbing manhood.

Damon's eyes rolled back into his head as cried out in bliss, his back arching as Klaus began slowly thrusting in and out of him, gritting his teeth to hold back his moans as Klaus slowly moved to his neck, sucking and nibbling.

Although he wasn't going to deny something felt off. It seemed like Klaus didn't want to hurt him, but in an annoying contrast that meant being treated like a breakable porcelain doll. Something he was _not_ , thank you very much.

"I'm not gonna break, Klaus," Damon told him, managing to glare up at him, in annoyance.

"Yes you will," Klaus responded, adjusting his pace slightly and making Damon bite his lip.

"Good," Damon said bluntly, "Maybe you'll fuck me so hard it'll kill me," he added, flopping back against the pillow and blowing out a long breath in frustration; at least Klaus wasn't stopping entirely.

"Least I'll get to come before I go," he joked, Klaus raising an eyebrow, although Damon wasn't certain he actually was.

"Still got your sense of humor, I see," Klaus chuckled at him, leaning down towards his neck once more.

Damon laughed at the tickling feel of Klaus' breath on his skin, smiling. "Wouldn't even give that up in the event of the apocalypse," he stated plainly.

"Just remember you asked for it," Klaus murmured into the crook of his neck, beginning to thrust in and out of him at a pace Damon would stubbornly refuse to admit that he could barely handle. He was now fragile and pathetic compared to Klaus' vampire strength and it absolutely infuriated him. Nonetheless, he welcomed the numb feeling spreading through his hip bones and leg muscles, digging his nails into Klaus' back.

His nails broke into the skin harder and harder with every one of Klaus' thrusts, their lips crashing together as their hips grinded together, moving quickly and forcefully. By the time Klaus wrapped a hand around his shaft and started jerking him off in time with his thrusts, Damon could feel his own blood dripping out of his mouth from how hard he was biting his lip.

As Klaus pushed him back down on the bed with his free hand, Damon caught a glimpse of a smirk at his bloody lips, the hybrid leaning down and placing a hot open-mouthed kiss there, lapping up the blood and forcing his tongue inside his mouth. Damon hummed happily at the strange, coppery feel of his own blood, arching his hips further to try and take as much of Klaus into him as he could.

Klaus partially lifted him off the mattress, free hand trailing down his back and wrapping one of his legs around his waist, encouraging Damon to wrap the other one around. The two of them collapsed back onto the bed, Damon squeezing his eyes shut and gasping every time Klaus dove back inside him, repeatedly hitting his sweet spot.

He screamed out in pleasure, one hand reaching up to tug at Klaus' hair and pull as hard as he could. Every muscle in his body was tightening and he could feel himself getting closer to his release, Klaus ever so slightly increasing the speed of his hand to meet in time with his thrusts.

Damon dug his nails into the back of Klaus' neck as his orgasm shook his entire body from the inside out, come splattering up and coating both their stomachs and Klaus' chest. He came after one final thrust inside Damon and he pressed his forehead against Damon's, the human out of them desperately trying to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?" Klaus asked, looking down at him in concern as Damon was clearly struggling, laying there in a boneless heap.

"Yeah," Damon panted, waving Klaus' hand away as he made to move his hair out of his eyes, "I'm just not used to this whole" – he broke off to suck in a breath – "catching your breath, thing," he huffed, making Klaus smile at him.

He groaned in a mixture of relief and emptiness as Klaus pulled out of him, rolling off him and lying beside him.

"Truth be told, I was trying to distract you," Klaus admitted, "Although, strangely, I did enjoy myself," he added, smiling slightly to himself.

Damon chuckled, shifting himself onto his back and letting his eyes fall closed.

"Come to New Orleans with me," Klaus said quickly.

Damon's eyes flew open, eyeing Klaus strangely. "And the distraction continues..." he trailed off, regarding him suspiciously.

He then sat upright, examing himself anywhere he could; his arms, legs, neck, chest, _anywhere_. His hair was still black, and he was definitely still a man. Although something had to be wrong, since there was no way Klaus had asked _him_ of all people to come to New Orleans with him.

" _What_ are you doing?" Klaus asked in amusement, chuckling at him.

"Checking I haven't suddenly turned into a blonde female with cheerleading pom-poms," Damon said in response, stopping in his examination to meet Klaus' eyes and quirk his brows.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "It's the least I can do," he said with a shrug.

"So... I get turned into a human and you're offering me a free holiday?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Free holiday in a town of witches," Klaus corrected him, and Damon's brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm sure one of them would be able to turn you into a vampire; under Marcel's nose, of course," he explained, a conspiratorous smile on his face.

Damon didn't even bother to question why Klaus was worried about someone finding out, "Why would you do that for me?" he wondered. He would've thought a sick and twisted part of Klaus wanted to watch him suffer, but then if he _had_ he would have gloated when Damon gave him the chance earlier, or he wouldn't have even attempted to come here.

"Because you've been a vampire for too long," Klaus said simply, Damon making a face of agreement, "You won't be able to function as a human," he told him, but Damon had to agree with him on that one.

"Especially not with the amount you drink," Klaus teased him.

Damon snorted with laughter, socking Klaus in the shoulder and making him laugh along with him.

"Y'know, I think you may have actually fucked my brains out," Damon said as an afterthought, Klaus smiling at him, "'Cause I'm seriously considering taking up your offer," he mumbled, yawning as he began to feel extremely tired.

He couldn't physically fight it, and settled into a comfortable position, positive he was pulling a slight face when Klaus moved him onto his chest, threading a hand through his hair. Whether it was because of the Original's sudden intimacy or the fact his mind was brimming over with scenarios if someone walked into his room, he had no idea.

His own heartbeat echoing in his ears lulled him to sleep, the sound causing his dreams to become filled with the sound of screams, bones snapping, and hot blood streaming down his throat.

One way or another, Damon Salvatore would make his triumphant return to the world of Vampirism.

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 **No idea what the ending is, but yeah, I'm rusty when it comes to writing, okay? xD I'd been toying with the idea of a cured!Damon dealy, but I never actually got around to it for some reason, IDK. (I'm STILL pissed we didn't get a healing scene just because Klaroline got their bullshit fan service piece, erugh! Yes, I** _ **am**_ **that good at holding grudges, and now that's just given me another one shot idea, FML...)**


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